Garment-fastener.



No. 695,34l. Patented uw n, |902.

I. S. PIERCE.

GARMENT FASTENER. (Application med s`epy. 17,1900.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STnTns PATnNT @Tricia IMOGEN S. PIERCE, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

eARMENT-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,341, dated March11, 19021. Application tiled September 17J 1900. Serial No. 30,278.(No'model.)

T0 rtl/ whom. it 17m/,y concern,.-

Be it known that I, IMOGEN SOMERFIELD PIERCE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in `Garment- Fasteners, of which the following is a speeific-ation.

One object of my invention is to provide a garmenbfastener whereby themeeting edges of theparts of a garment can be retained in their properrelation to each other without the necessity of fastening either portionof the fastener to the garment. f

A further object is to dispense with the use of an exposed or open hookand cause the fastener to lie snugly againstV the material of which thegarment is composed, thus over# coming an objection to the ordinary hookand eye, which project so far from the garment as frequently tointerfere with the desired close fit of the same.

My improved garment-fastener can also be constructed so as to retain theparts with a certain measure of elasticity in order to permit them toyield when subjected to undue strain and to return to their normalcondition when such undue strain is removed. The fastener can also onoccasion be used as a suspending device for certain purposes.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective viewofmyimproved garmentfastener.` Fig. 2 is a sectional view of portion of agarment with the fastener applied thereto. Figs. 3 and 4 arerespectively front and back portions ofthe same. Fig. 5 is a perspectiveView illustrating another form of fastener embodying niyinvention; andFigs. G and 7 represent, respectively, in perspective and in sectionalelevation a hook-andeye fastening embodying certain features of myinvention.

The fastener shown in Figs. l to Lconsists of a piece of wire, sheetmetal, or other available material bent, cut, or shaped so as to form ashank orconnecting-bar 1, terminating in opposite hooks or loops 2,which face each other and are preferably spread or widened, as shown inFig. 3, so that after being passed through buttonholes 3 in the fastenerwill thus serve to retain the two por ,tions of the garment in theirproper relation to each other, and as the shank or bar l and theopposite hooks 2 lie snugly against the opposite faces of the garmentthere are no projecting portions to catch in other portions of theapparel, nor is the bulk of the fastener such as to prevent the closefit-ting of the garment to the person or the close fitting of anothergarment over the same.

To increase the bearing-surface of the crossbar or shank l of thefastener, the latter may be spread or widened, as shown at 4 in Fig. 4,at points corresponding with the widened portions of the hooks 2, and insome cases the fastener may be made of resilient material, so that thiscross-bar or shank is free to eX- paud and contract, and will thuspermit the two parts of the garment to spread apart when subjected toundue strain or cause them to return to their normal position when suchstrain is removed. p

In that form of fastener shown in Fig. 5 the loops or hooks 2 are onopposite sides of the bar or shank l instead of being upon the same sideof the bar, as in the fastener shown in Fig. l.

In applying my invention to a hook-and-eye fastening for use inconnection with buttonholed portions of garments I adopt theconstruction shown in Figs. 6 and 7, in which the bar l has but a singlehook 2 for engaging with one buttonhole, one of the loops 4l of the barl serving as an eye for engagement with the hook, which constitutes thebent end of a bar G, having a widened loop 7 and a widened hook S forengagement with the buttonhole opposite to that which is engaged by thehook 2.

In all cases it is preferable, although not absolutely necessary, totwist the wire at the juncture of the hooks and loops, as at 9, forinstance, so as to prevent spreading of the fastener at these points.

The fastener shown in Figs. l to 4C comprises but a single piece insteadof the two elements of au ordinary hook-and-eye fastening, and even whenthe fastener is made in the form of a two-part or hook-and-eye fasteningit is adapted to be used in connection with ordinary buttonholes, sothat it can be readily applied or removed, no sewing of any IOO .quired.

part of the fastener to the garment being re- The device may also beused in some cases asa suspension-.hook-as, forinstance, in su pportinga sling or hammock in a bath-tub for the treatment of a patient incertain diseases where a long-continued submergence of a portion of thebody is required. In such case it is necessary simply to adapt one hookto the edge of the tub and the other to a bnttonhole or eye at thecorner of the sling.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patentl. The Within-described garment-fastener consisting ofloops connected by a double bar or shank and project-ing inwardly butnot outwardly beyond the ends of the latter so as to form hooks, saidhook portions .being composed of continuousruns ofthe material formingthe fastener, substantially as specified.

2. The within-described garment-fastener, consisting of loops connectedbya double back bar or shank and projecting inwardly but not outwardlybeyond the ends of the latter so as to form hooks facing` each other,said hooks being formed of continuous runs of the material composing thefastener and being latbar or shank being bent so as to provide laterallyspread or widened portions underlying said hooks, substantially asspecified.

4. The within-described garment-fastener consisting of a continuousdouble bar or shank terminating in opposite bent ends forming hooksfacing each other, said hooks being formed of continuons runs of thematerial of which the fastener is composed, the material being twistedat the point where the ends are bent over to form the hooks,substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

IMOGEN S. PIERCE.

Witnesses:

F. E. BECHTOLD, Jos. H. KLEIN.

